


on the eve of destiny

by HolyMakkirel



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Casual Sex, F/M, Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood Spoilers, Original Non-WoL Character, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21634663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyMakkirel/pseuds/HolyMakkirel
Summary: [THIS DESCRIPTION CONTAINS STORMBLOOD SPOILERS]On the eve before the siege of Doma Castle, the Doman Liberation Front takes a night to unwind. The Warrior of Light's dearest friend, coming to assist after staying behind to give her support in Gyr Abania, finally meets the prince her friend had told her so much about.
Relationships: Background Lyse/Yugiri/WoL, Hien Rijin/Warrior of Light
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	on the eve of destiny

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lebedev](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lebedev/gifts).



> this fic takes place in a canon where both my WoL (P'pona Pohnna, an actual WoL) and my friend's WoL (Margot Crowther, an echoless scion) coexist.  
> after arriving in kugane, margot doubles back to take place in the recovery of gyr abania after the attack on rhalgr's, while p'pona remains in othard and does basically all the othard related parts of stormblood.  
> this scene is based on the drinking scene from On the Eve of Destiny. some lines spoken by NPCs are based on that cutscene  
> anyways marpona friendship is real and margot/hien is good please enjoy

The eve of the attack on Doma castle was a stressful one for many in the House of the Fierce. Though spirits were high, that did little to abate the anxieties in some, who found sleep evading them. Though none looked particularly antsy, the three drinkers in the room beside the aetheryte hall counted among these anxious fighters. Hien, the exile prince of Doma, who seemed to be producing sake from the aether whenever the bottle ran dry, worrying about how his strategy for tomorrow might reshape Doman history. Gosetsu, his loyal retainer, putting back gulp after gulp, worrying about whether or not he’d provided enough counsel to his liege. And P’pona, Warrior of Light, who had drunk so much that the rosiness on her cheeks was visible despite the dimness of the crystal lighting and her dark brown complexion, worrying about the far less pressing issue of the friend she’d brought to help tomorrow.

“Thank you… for pitying an old fool.” Sitting across from Hien and beside P’pona, Gosetsu’s words rang through their ears. They’d seen no lack of emotion in the man before, for he was far from a stoic. Hien had known him far too long to be shocked every time the man’s feelings got the better of him, and P’pona had adventured with him so much recently that she was well aware of his character. The reason this particular monologue had hit them so deep was because neither had seen the man so deeply wallowing before. Gosetsu was a jolly man, for the most part; he lacked not in seriousness, but he was generally quite capable of bringing the mood up. To see him so crushed… it saddened the two. Hien, for certain, was not having it.

“Now, now, it is far too soon for that…” He set about consoling the larger man. “Save your tears for the morrow. You may be sure we will have ample cause to shed them, be they for joy or despair.” Continuing on, he dispersed supportive word after supportive word, stopping only to take a drink of his sake. P’pona watched in silent glee. She was no quiet woman by any means, her boisterous voice often filling up the bars of Eorzea with her often unintelligible accent, a result of her Gyr Abanian upbringing merging with her Lominsan formative years (She’s fucking Scouse y’all.) Still, watching Hien orate was always a joy, just as watching Hien in general was. The two clearly liked each other, and in another world, the promiscuous warrior might have made a move on him. Unfortunately, this was not that world, and she held herself back; she had another friend who she just  _ needed _ him to meet.

“..we must live past tomorrow, no?” Hien concluded his little speech, having turned to face the Miqo’te in all her green-gowned glory. “Aye!” She cheered, raising her ochoko in a distinctly foreign pump of her fist. Fortunately for all involved, she’d emptied it of sake and not yet made time to pour more. She and Hien shared a knowing look, as if giving each other permission to do what they both knew was coming.

“If you've no intention of sleeping, Yugiri,” Hien turned his head around a corner, calling out the jonin who had hidden herself around the corner, “you may as well join us.” Before the ninja could even bring herself out to the group, P’pona turned the opposite direction towards the hall to the bedrooms (if the improvised lodgings in the dilapidated, leaky cave network they occupied could be called that).

“N’at goes for you too, Margot.” A soft yelp affirmed her suspicion that her paladin friend was slinking around the side of the room. “Really now, I didn’t invite you all the way ‘ere just to ‘ave you sit in the room all night.” The two more reserved women came up to the group, Yugiri sitting beside P’pona on her right and Margot across from the two, pulling a stool to the side between Gosetsu and Hien. 

“Forgive me, my lord. I did not mean to intrude... Uh… I will sit, if that is your will…” Disappointed that she’d been seen through so easily, Yugiri mumbled her words as she sat by the Warrior of Light. P’pona gave her a friendly bump with her elbow and poured her some sake, as if to say “cheer up.”

“Why  _ did _ you invite me again, Pona?” Margot looked somewhere between exasperated and discomforted at being spotted herself, though the fact that even Yugiri didn’t escape Hien’s watchful eye and P’pona’s abnormal senses offered her some solace. Hien poured and set a cup for her, leaving the modest woman blushing. Served by a prince! What an honor. Ideally, she would have shown how refined she was by gracefully tossing her brown locks, letting her light beige skin glimmer beneath the luminescent crystals running up the wall, and giving the handsome man a “Why, thank you.” Unfortunately, she instead just blushed, nodded, and sipped her drink.

“Well, I wanted you to help out tomorrow! Feels odd goin’ off on a military campaign without me best friend, yanno?” P’pona lied. 

“Right, but you seemed insistent I remain here through the night. Why couldn’t I just return to the Reach after attuning, and then come back here in the morning? We have linkpearls for a reason, and it’s not just so you can tell me all about your escapades.” Margot adored hearing about P’pona’s escapades, but she had to at least pretend she didn’t right now. If she seemed too happy, she’d never get anything out of her. 

“ _ Weeelllllllll _ ,” a noise that Margot could realize meant P’pona was about to start spinning words. “What’s the point! Going to sleep in Gyr Abania, just ta wake up and teleport to Othard? You might as well sleep here! And besides…” She leaned both elbows on the table in front of them, getting a giggle out of Yugiri as she got so into this. “Is it so bad spendin’ time with me again? I missed you, yanno…” Reclining back once more with an exaggerated shrug, one could almost see Yugiri realize that she made the endeared mistake of sitting next to the most dramatic member of the soiree. “But if yer not feelin it, I’m not gonna stop you. You can head back to the room, or the Reach, and keep all the sake you’d like.”

This teased sincerity, P’pona reassuring Margot with things she meant but saying them so exaggeratedly that it seemed she was joking, was something that the knightess had gotten used to. She opened her mouth about to respond, but a boisterous laugh interrupted her.

“Ah, P’pona, you speak nonsense!” Gosetsu slapped P’pona’s back, a gesture which would have sent any Miqo’te lacking her training in the inner beast flying. “Our lady made the trip from Kugane to Namai just to attune this aetheryte. Surely, we must give her more for her troubles than a new locale to teleport to, no?” He turned to Margot, having not seen her since the group departed from Eorzea. “Surely she has all manner of stories about her time in the west! Tell us!”

Again, Margot opened her mouth, but as if she was destined to be cut off whenever she tried to speak, she was interrupted again. She was almost tired of this, until she realized who was taking such an interest in her.

“I must say, I agree with Gosetsu.” Spoke Hien plainly, leaning in towards her ever so slightly. “After all, if we are to storm Gyr Abania, we might as well learn of it, no? And if we are to fight alongside each other, well, does it not follow that we learn of each other as well?..” 

Margot’s face betrayed her emotions with how red it turned, the woman realizing with every charismatic word just how charming the prince was. P’pona (who had now taken to smugly sipping toward Margot, absentmindedly twirling the seafoam-tipped hair of her bob around her finger) might have  _ described _ his charms, yes, but she was not particularly articulate, and not even the Wandering Minstrel could have conveyed how extreme they were. Tossing her hair gracefully, she turned to the table with a smile.

“Well, if you must know…” She began to recount the tails of Gyr Abania, no less exciting than what the Doman liberationists had gone through; diplomacy with the Vira, recruitment in Ala Ghiri and Ala Gannha, the rebuilding of the Reach and the recollection of Eorzean forces. The entire table was interested, but none more than the prince himself, taking it as an opportunity to understand the political situation, learn some military tactics, admire such an incredible woman, broaden his horizons beyond Doma, introduce himself to P’pona’s friends… the reasons were endless to him.

The group talked long into the night, unfortunately loudly enough to attract the attention of the rest of the House. Lyse, feeling left out, abandoned her orders to get some rest and rejoined the group, sitting beside Margot to face P’pona and leaving her nudged slightly closer to Hien. The Leveilleur twins, having passed out in the aetheryte hall, came to participate after P’pona and Gosetsu both burst into resounding cheers after Yugiri beat Lyse at arm wrestling. To the relief of everyone at the table but Alisaie, the neverending sake supply was exhausted before they arrived. Neither one planning on staying long, they cramped themselves in between Yugiri and Hien, pushing the former closer to P’pona and the latter closer to Margot. The revel carried on with its new additions, the Scions in particular ecstatic to reunite with the paladin, even if only for a little while.

In that moment, they all seemed to forget that tomorrow they were attacking the Garleans. It was good for them, to take some time off from all the stress and worry, all the time spent avoiding feeling for another out of the fear that they might disappear to a stray bullet. But, as most nights are wont to do, their get together slowly wound down. 

The twins, already tired from their earlier bout with sleep, headed off to their rooms first. Gosetsu retired next, his old age bringing him both the need to rest and the wisdom to recognize it. P’pona and Yugiri sat shoulder to shoulder while both swapping looks with Lyse across the table, the last two both… repressed by the stress of a military campaign and looking to  _ relax _ . Unfortunately for them, their miqo’te partner had refused to rise from her seat no matter how often Lyse kicked at her leg. Until now.

“Well, Margot, s’been… absolutely wonderful, catchin’ up with you. I’m glad you weren’t off on some mission or other.” P’pona stood up, Yugiri rising immediately after and Lyse a moment later. “I’ll see you in the mornin’, yea? Don’t stay up too late, love.” Her tone was obviously teasing, and a twitch of her ear that Margot had gotten used to taking like almost a wink made that clear. Hooking an arm with Yugiri and wrapping an arm around Lyse’s shoulder, the three soon disappeared into the hall, all three of them giggling audibly as they faded away.

Now left with no one but each other, Margot and Hien were made exceedingly aware of just how close they’d come to sit together over the night. With a cough, Hien nearly pulled away, but decided at the last second to slow his motion.  _ Maybe she did this on purpose? _ He tried to consider how to best handle the situation. _ I shouldn’t just jump back like I’m repulsed… _ The sake had passed his system and his thoughts were coherent now, but he wasn’t fully aware of what led him to this position. Yet no sooner than he nudged a bit away, Margot had re-closed the distance. 

_ Oh. _

**_Oh._ **

“Well, my lady,” Hien spoke, as always, from his diaphragm, and with their knees and elbows touching ever so slightly, Margot could feel the reverberations against her own skin, particularly when he gave an exaggerated yawn. “I suppose we should retire, hm? Big day tomorrow, after all! We wouldn’t want to be under rested.” 

Margot, however, knew better. She was trained well enough medically to tell that he was far too excited to go to sleep anytime soon. She knew, on one hand, that she should let him get to bed; after all, if he was pretending to be tired, surely he  _ wanted _ to rest, right? Yet, on the other… she would have liked to spend more time with him, and knew not when she would get another chance.

“Actually, my lord…” her bright-pink cheeks betrayed her cool tone of voice, revealing the embarrassment it tried to hide. “I’d feel much more comfortable if I… scouted the area a little bit! Maybe some late night sightseeing while the monsters are asleep. If you’d like to join me?..”  _ I would love to spend the night beneath the moonlight with you. _

Hien, now, took a turn to blush. “Truly? Ah, well… who am I to deny a guest, particularly one-”  _ -so beautiful and warm,-  _ “-asking only a single indulgence. Come.” 

Hien led Margot, holding his hand out dramatically for her to take it. Just… out of courtesy, of course. He was guiding her around, after all! The two made their way out of the cave, exiting by the Valley of the Fallen Rainbow and looking up at the moonlit sky together, if only for a moment. Then, with a powerful whistle, Hien called his yol; with exponentially more powerful wingbeats, it answered. He mounted the unsaddled bird and stuck his hand out to Margot, smiling down at the awestruck woman.

“Well? Climb on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this'll be the only chapter unless/until i feel like writing more margot/hien but thatll probably happen eventually so. enjoy.


End file.
